I have been collecting (probably more hoarding) coins on and off for sometime now. When I was younger I was encouraged to pick through my coins and look for interesting change and keep hold of it. However, only recently have I started thinking about possibly starting down the road to collecting.

So, I have some questions about how to get started and things of that sort. However, first I have a disclaimer.

I am not looking to be a serious collector. I am not looking to purchase coins or anything of that sort. I find those expensive and wonderfully old coins excellent pieces of history, but I do not wish for them to be in my possession. My plan, on the other hand, is something a bit more boring to the serious collectors. I am thinking of simply sifting through the coins that I get in change to find those that are interesting, rare, modestly valuable coins. But.. I haven't a clue how to go about this, or whether something like this is a good idea.

What I was thinking was: a "collection of uniques." Basically, this means that I would want to sift through my change and keep one of each year/coin/type (preferably the best example that I can find) regardless of value. Then, those coins which I know have some numismatic value, I would keep as well.

As an example of this, in this (hypothetical) collection, I would have a one example of the 2011 Penny (as they are basically worthless barring errors and such). But if I found 2 copies of decent 1920 small cent pennies, I would keep them both.

>_< This is seeming so much more complicated to explain than I thought.. sorry..

Lastly, I would keep all of those coins that have a melt value that is greater than the coin value (and greater than the numismatic value) so as to sell them off to melt once I have enough.

Does that make any sense?

Okay, to the questions!

So, what would be the best way to go about storing my collection of sentimentally and numismaticly valuable coins (especially in the earlier stages)?How much higher than the coin value should the melt value be to keep it? (I was thinking at least 50%. 25 for the profit of the place I am selling to, and 25 for my profit.)What is the best way to get my hands on coins that I can sort through? (Again, I am not looking to buy coins for more than their coin value. This might change, but I need to prove my commitment to collecting first before I even think of that.)And lastly, how do I get better at grading so as to help my estimation of numismatic value?

So.. I am sorry that I wrote so much.. I am just a person that needs to have a plan for everything before doing anything.. I do hope that someone takes the time to read this and answer me, as I am quite interested in learning about the beginnings of collecting

I like pennies, and nickles ~ because they are more affordable to collect than larger denominations or paper money.

if you have a large stash of coins what you can do is group them by denominations, then decade, then year, and see about getting examples of all... and simply bank the rest.

IMHO 2003 was a neat year for pennies - there were the 'old bust' and new bust, as well as 'P' & 'non-p' (of which I still don't have the 4th variant);2006 was similar;zinc core 'P' & RCM logog as well as steel core 'P' & RCM logo...

if you think that a book like the one I linked is of interest to you, but are unsure as to if it's worthwhile getting one that's got suggestions of which slot holds which coin (printed on the inside cover btw) ~ you can get plain ones too... Any coin shop, or coin vendor should have at lest one or two of these ~ I recently bought one of these for my nephew.

I have been collecting for close to 50 years. I still go through my change to get the new coins. I won't buy anything after 2000 unless it is a normal circulating coin, and only if I haven't found it in my change after several years.

Go to a coin store, buy a Charlton or other good coin catalogue. Check off each coin so you'll know what you already have. I circle the grade so I know what I have when looking at others of the same year and can replace it with a higher grade if found (use a pencil so you can erase the old circle). Also buy some 2x2 cardboard holders and plastic pages that the 2x2's fit in. You can use the usual Whitman blue books, but cents will tarnish and you can only see one side of the coins, and they do not have space for most varieties, and you can't put more than one of each coin.

Pre-1997 cents are .980 copper which means they are actually worth more than 1 cent in metal value. 1981 and earlier nickels are 100% nickel which make them worth several times face value.

The best way to get coins to sift through is to get rolls at the bank, of course. Only problem is that some banks won't take rolls. I used to get $10 of cents and $20 of nickels and go through them, but I would return them to a different bank, otherwise you may get the same rolls back, or the bank will refuse to give and accept rolls from you.

To learn grading, go to ebay and check coins that are in CCCS or ICCS holders (sometimes the photos are terrible so just check out the ones with clear photos). Most other grading companies are not reliable enough to use their grading, and don't believe 95% of the grades given in ebay auctions (mine are good though LOL). You can judge one of your coins, then post it here and see if your estimation matches with the responses. Mint state coins are harder to grade as each little mark can make a big difference - I rarely grade mine as anything above UNC, even after 50 years of collecting. I have an idea if it looks MS-63 but it could be a 62 or 64, so instead of circling the grade in the catalogue, I make a half-circle at the MS-62 with the open side toward the MS-63.